North Dakota's Automatic Renewal Law: What Subscribers Should Know

North Dakota's automatic-renewal rules are collected in chapter 51-37 of the North Dakota Century Code, "Customer Contract Clauses and Automatic Renewals." The chapter runs to six sections covering definitions, the use of automatic renewal, exceptions, remedies, enforcement, and private enforcement. It was created by House Bill 1195 in the 2019 session of the 66th Legislative Assembly and amended by House Bill 1228 in the 2023 session of the 68th.

The definitions in section 51-37-01 set a limit consumers should notice first. "Automatic renewal" means a plan or arrangement in which a paid subscription or purchasing agreement is automatically renewed for a period of more than one month at the end of a definite period for a subsequent period. Because of that "more than one month" language, an ordinary month-to-month subscription renewing in one-month increments falls outside the definition, which makes North Dakota's chapter narrower than laws in states that reach every recurring charge.

The chapter's "agreement" is also defined narrowly, as a written agreement between a customer and a party acting in the usual course of business in which the customer borrows, buys, leases, or obtains merchandise, personal property, real property, or services for valuable consideration. "Clear and conspicuous" means larger or contrasting type, font or color, or text set off by symbols so that the language is readily apparent, readable and understandable; a statement that contradicts or is inconsistent with other information presented with it is not clear and conspicuous.

Section 51-37-03 carves out three categories: the sale of insurance regulated under title 26.1; the sale of public utilities regulated under title 49 or the federal communications commission, or services provided by those public utilities; and a bank, bank holding company, credit union, or other financial institution or trust company regulated under title 6. This page is general information about the statute, not legal advice.

Section 51-37-02, subsection 1 imposes three duties on a person selling or offering to sell merchandise or a service for a specified period under an agreement containing an automatic renewal provision. The seller must present the terms of the automatic renewal offer clearly and conspicuously before the subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in proximity to the offer. It must provide an acknowledgment that includes those terms and information about how to cancel, in a manner capable of being retained by the buyer. And it must provide a cost-effective, timely, and simple procedure for cancellation, described in that acknowledgment.

Consent is the gate on billing. Subsection 4 provides that a seller may not make or submit any charge to a buyer's credit card, debit card, bank account, account with a third party, or other financial account unless it has complied with subsection 1 and obtained the buyer's affirmative consent to the agreement containing the automatic renewal terms.

If the terms later change materially, subsection 3 requires the seller to give the buyer clear and conspicuous notice of the material change and information about how to cancel, again in a form the buyer can retain.

North Dakota states a standard rather than prescribing a mechanism. The cancellation procedure must be cost-effective, timely, and simple, and it must be described in the acknowledgment the seller gives you. Unlike several other states, chapter 51-37 does not require a one-click cancellation button or an online exit for consumers who signed up online, so the question is whether the route the business actually offers meets that standard.

The chapter does cap how long a business can lock you in. Section 51-37-02, subsection 5 provides that the renewal period in an automatic renewal provision may not exceed twelve months, so an agreement cannot roll over into a multi-year automatic extension.

The remedies section gives these rules teeth. Under section 51-37-04, an automatic renewal provision that violates the chapter is unenforceable and void. If a person sends merchandise or provides a service as a result of an automatic renewal without complying with section 51-37-02, or does so after the buyer took an affirmative act to cancel or avoid charges, the merchandise or service is considered an unconditional gift to the buyer, who may dispose of it as they see fit without obligation to the seller.

North Dakota's advance-notice requirement is keyed to the length of the renewal term. It applies where a person sells or offers to sell merchandise or a service for a specified period under an agreement containing a provision for automatic renewal for a period of more than six months at the end of the time period specified in the agreement. Where the renewal term is six months or shorter, the chapter requires no advance renewal reminder at all.

When the notice is owed, the seller must give the buyer a clear and conspicuous written notice stating that the buyer may cancel the contract and avoid the automatic renewal. The notice must include the procedure for cancelling, and it must be given at least thirty days and not more than sixty days before the date the agreement will be renewed, or before the expiration of the period for cancellation.

The statute is specific about delivery. The written notice must be provided by first-class mail, by electronic mail, or by any easily accessible form of communication, including text message or a mobile application - but that last route is available only if the consumer specifically authorized the seller to give notice in that form.

Chapter 51-37 was created by House Bill 1195 of the 66th Legislative Assembly in 2019, whose application section provided that the act applies to contracts entered after July 31, 2019. As originally enacted, the chapter's operative duties reached only sales of merchandise.

House Bill 1228 of the 68th Legislative Assembly, enacted in 2023, amended sections 51-37-01, 51-37-02 and 51-37-04 and applies to contracts entered after July 31, 2023. It broadened the chapter from merchandise to "merchandise or a service," added the defined term "agreement," removed the words "for sale of merchandise" from the twelve-month cap so the cap covers agreements generally, and rewrote the remedies section so that the offending automatic renewal provision - rather than the whole agreement - is void, while extending the unconditional-gift remedy to services.

Nothing has changed since that 2023 amendment. The Legislative Branch states that the online Century Code reflects all statutory changes approved by the 69th Legislative Assembly, and the 2025 session-law table of Century Code sections affected by bill lists no measure touching chapter 51-37. North Dakota has not adopted the click-to-cancel style online-cancellation mandates several other states enacted in 2024 and 2025, and its "more than one month" definition continues to leave standard month-to-month subscriptions outside the chapter.

Section 51-37-05 gives the Attorney General authority to enforce the chapter, using the powers and remedies provided in chapter 51-15, North Dakota's "Unlawful Sales or Advertising Practices" chapter. Each act in violation of chapter 51-37 constitutes a separate violation of chapter 51-15, and the remedies, duties, prohibitions and penalties are not exclusive but are in addition to other causes of action and penalties.

North Dakota also gives consumers a route of their own. Section 51-37-06 provides that a person aggrieved by a violation may bring an action to enjoin the violation or for restitution, or both, and that the court may award the plaintiff costs, expenses and reasonable attorney's fees; it adds that this does not limit other claims the plaintiff may have. Not every state's automatic-renewal statute contains an express private enforcement section, so this is a meaningful feature of North Dakota's law.

Consumers who want the state to look at a business can file a complaint with the North Dakota Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, which runs a consumer complaint and mediation program. Save the sign-up screen, the acknowledgment, any renewal notice, your cancellation request and dated billing entries. This page describes North Dakota law in 2026 and is general information rather than legal advice; whether an agreement falls inside chapter 51-37 turns on its terms and renewal period.